3 charts of which show why the US should stop ignoring its debt problem

By most measures, the U.S. economic outlook can be bright. GDP (gross domestic product) growth could exceed 4 percent from the second quarter, unemployment can be at decade-lows as well as also wages are ticking up.

yet one figure paints a darker picture: U.S. national debt.

Gross federal debt stands at a massive $21.2 trillion. Economists as well as also policymakers are increasingly urging the U.S. government to address the debt at This kind of point while the economy can be on solid footing as well as also before the next crisis hits.

“Even if you think of which public debt just doesn’t matter to economic outcomes, the thing you have to admit can be of which when we hit a downturn, governments are less likely to take significant steps if the debt can be as high as ours can be at This kind of point,” said Jared Bernstein, a senior fellow at the Center on Budget as well as also Policy Priorities, to CNBC via telephone.